Page 38 (1/2)

"Take her teat," he said haltingly "Like so"

She tilted her head to view the goat’s underside, where Davy’s thuer curled around one knobby teat Cautiously, she reached out to follow suit on her side At the first brush of her fingers against the ave an annoyed shiver Sophia snatched her hand back

"Don’t let her frighten you, Miss Turner You can’t be tile escaped her "Oh, I assure you, I can I haven’t your bravery, Mr Linnet"

Her reht Davy made no answer Drat Sophia chastised herself with a sharp tug on her apron That was badly done of her It ard enough that she’d asked hie him in flirtation was unspeakably insensitive Still, she needed to learn how to do this Every hour Davy spent atwatch

Emboldened by the desire to complete this lesson quickly, she reached out in a flash, capturing the goat’s second teat with her thuer "Like so?"

"Yes, ers down, one by one …" He demonstrated, and a jet of milk hit the tin pail with a sharp trill Sophia iain, earning only an iain, a bit faster this tioat bleated, in see it, now You want to coax the er at a ti into the pail Taking a deep breath, Sophia began again, painstakingly i pull of Davy’s hand When a thin stream of white shot from the teat, she could not suppress a small cry of elation In truth, if she hadn’t feared it would startle the nanny dry, she would have done a little dance She tried again, with greater confidence Another spurt of milk cah yellowish oat to cover the bottom of the pail "You’ve the way of it now" He continuedthe other teat, and they settled into a quiet, contrapuntal rhythm

"Did you do this often at ho than silence

"Often enough Every day, when I was a boy"

Sophia ser

"Who tends theone?"

"My sisters, I expect"

"Sisters? Are they older or younger?"

"I’ot herself ain, she’ll have a brat of her own, I reckon" His voice deepened in pitch, as though the prospect displeased him

"Shouldn’t you like to be an uncle? Just think of the exotic tales and trinkets you’ll bring ho hero The children will swarm around you like bees" She iirls will be ain Frustrated with herself, Sophia gave a harsh yank on the goat’s teat and narrowly h It would seem she’d lost the ability to converse rather than flirt, if she’d ever developed that talent at all What was her reasoning, precisely? That a h esteem without the benefit of her flattery? Or that he’d see no reason to estee as I coes, I don’t expect they’ll turn me away"

She let the soft splashes of th, she asked cautiously, "Aren’t you happy for her, your sister who married?"

"I don’t know that it matters, how I feel about it"

"But she’s your sister She matters to you"

His hand stilled on the teat "The man she ed it I think …" He squeezed out another jet of milk "I think my father was in the man’s debt, more than he could pay"

"I see"

Her disrew robust with defense "She weren’t forced into it, ainst her will"

"No No, of course not Just against her heart I do understand It’s the way of things for women, sos for her "You don’t suspect he’ll h, I reckon My father wouldn’t have let her go, otherwise"

"Then that’s sooat’s teat, then released it completely "Just the same, I didn’t like it I don’t like to see her married to aon her side, settling into a hypnotic rhythm "Of course you don’t She’s your sister If you care for her, you want to see her well cared for If you love her, you want to see her loved" If only she’d been so fortunate, to have a brother to want the sahtly on the word, and he paused It ood man, the captain"